How we went from a fruit shop, a retailer, to Tasman Eco and now seena.
90s
- After years of working at the family fruit shop "Johnnies fruit market" Steve Cenatiempo was ready for a change.
- On the same land as his father's fruit shop, Steve opened a baby department store, Cuddles n Mum" which would operate for 17 years
- It was always going to be a family run business, with grandparents, cousins, kids and all helping
1998
- There was a lack a gap between what the customer wanted and what was available.
- Steve created his own range, Carla's Country Collection, named after his first daughter.
- Everything was designed, constructed and assembled in house
- With growth manufacturing moved to New Zealand from Australia
- Steve joins an Advisory panel organised by ACCC
2004
- The family was in the shop 7 days a week and business was growing, but this came at the cost of time
- After 15 years the family decides to close the retail store and focus on their 3 children
- There was demand for the product so Steve decides to pivot into wholesale and manufacturing
2005
- Production costs increased and manufacturing in New Zealand became unsustainable
- The team in New Zealand were looking at new ventures. Steve buys their half of the business
- Tasman Eco is born, named after the sea between both business partners
2006
- The industry was in a different spot to today, the focus was on physical stores.
- Wholesale reaching more families, meaning increased production
- After researching options, manufacturing was moved to China. See image of said research...
- A full time resource was hired to manage manufacturing, sourcing and quality
- The move allowed Tasman Eco to grow and become a market leader
2015
- The previous 10 years and the following 5 would mark the years were Tasman Eco established its self in the industry
- Continuing to focus on manufacturing and providing furniture across Australia
- Tasman Eco has it's first venture online with web presence
- Steve and his wife Josie continue working in the business
2020
- Steve's children John and Carla join the business
- Their focus was taking the business online, and addressing the new needs of customers
- Carla coming from a marketing background and John focusing on operations and logistics
2021
- The business was growing and there was a demand for direct to customer.
- Carla's husband John jumps in due to the growth and help move the business digital
- We launched our e-commerce store in July 2021
2025
- After 20 years as Tasman Eco we were ready to say goodbye to out baby years
- We rebranded as Seena - a name that pays tribute to our family, inspired by our surname
- This shift reflects our commitment to the next generation of our brand
- While the name has changed, our heart remains the same — family-owned, proudly Australian, and focused on creating beautiful, sustainable baby furniture.
Meet the team
Steve Cenatiempo
The founding father. Steve started the business while growing his own family at the same time. It was a family affair with everyone helping out.
As the next generation take more control, Steve is still around to guide as well as focusing on being a grandfather.
John Cenatiempo
Jumping into the business and wearing every possible hat to keep everything running. You will see John C at all of the baby fairs, chat to him on the phones and he is the one who is making sure your orders are going out.
Carla Zakharia
Carla is our creative powerhouse. When she's not running after our own little one, she is styling photoshoots, creating content and making sure we all look presentable for content.
John Zakharia
Carla's husband and progressively pulled into the business. Focuses on keeping everything online up and running and heading up customer service
Maria
Customer service Goddess. Always there to help everyone.